Some 160 million Christians from 114 countries have added their full backing to the church-based, grassroots campaign to cancel Third World debt, ahead of the next G7 summit to be held in Genoa, Italy, in July.
Delegates at the WEF 11th General Assembly passed a resolution calling on governments and financial institutions of both North and South to “act decisively, transparently and with integrity to combat corruption and fulfil the Jubilee 2000 vision by taking the necessary steps to break the chains of debt and give a new start to the world's poorest nations.”
The resolution called the international community to commit itself to achieving “growing justice in world trade in the light of globalisation; this must recognise the role of trade, particularly in arms, that fuels conflict and causes widespread poverty and suffering.”
Stephen Rand, Prayer and Campaigns Director of the UK-based relief and development agency Tearfund, said: "Despite the partial success of the Jubilee 2000, we still have a situation where more money is flowing out of poor countries in debt repayments than is given in aid.
“There are countries spending more on repaying debt than on health and education. Debt still means that children of the poor are dying of preventable disease."
According to Rand, the Jubilee 2000 campaign began with the vision of an individual Christian. It grew into the largest-ever-global protest with 24.3 million petition signatures from 160 countries.
“Adopting this resolution in our Jubilee year sends a signal around the world that evangelical Christians want to speak for justice in the face of the negative impact of global finance and global structures,” he said. |
